Caddy v Pro

[longdrive23]

How ridiculous is this:

Caddy:
- Carry heavy bag.
- Carry food/drinks, feed the Pro
- Clean clubs
- Clean the ball
- Replace divots
- Calculate yardage
- Help reading greens, wind etc.
- Rake the bunker
- Keep crowds quiet.
- Search for the lost ball
- Dodge clubs thrown back by angry pros
- Putting practice: Place putting aids (tees etc)
- Putting practice: Collect the golf balls from the cup
- Maybe a few more behind the scenes during the tournament.

Pro:
- Swing the club

This is crazy, why should Pro be treated like royalty? Why can't Pros do more for the amount of money they get? Just because kings played this ages ago and had helpers, why do the current day pros' get this type of 'labor'?

I guess due to the economics of golf, caddies wont go away. But, more than paying the caddies the bigger share of the $$, I'd like to see the Pro's do more work, mainly - calculate yardage and read putts on their own. Caddy only carries the bag and some maintenance.

Thoughts?

[shades9323]

How ridiculous is this:

Caddies get paid very well to do what they do.

And, you're nuts!:)

[Shripe]

And to think I quit my caddying job at MCC after 2 outings back in 7th-8th grade... It was good pay too, but I was lazy. :/ Wishing I could start over again.

[martytilma]

Caddies get paid very well to do what they do.

Completely agree! If you paid me what Tiger's caddie has made and I would wipe his butt for him!!!

[Zeph]

Pro:

This is what gives profit, not looking for balls, replacing divots or carrying bananas.

[Shindig]

How much time does it take to get good as a caddy? How much practice time does one have to put in outside of official work hours to maintain oneself as a good caddy? How many people pay good money for a ticket to watch a caddy?

Now, repeat the questions with pro and you'll see what it is.

Also, the pro's job isn't limited to swinging a club.

[jetsknicks1]

How ridiculous is this:

Uhhhh, what? Caddys are not just "Labor" they are more like assistants or even coaches on the course and the good ones make good money. Should Derek Jeter clean out the dugout after a game because of the money he makes?

[James_Black]

How much time does it take to get good as a caddy? How much practice time does one have to put in outside of official work hours to maintain oneself as a good caddy? How many people pay good money for a ticket to watch a caddy?

Vijay's caddy used to stay with him on the range for 5-6 hour stints.

[longdrive23]

Uhhhh, what? Caddys are not just "Labor" they are more like assistants or even coaches on the course and the good ones make good money. Should Derek Jeter clean out the dugout after a game because of the money he makes?

Thats like saying the pros should mow the lawn in the course. Thats completely not the point.

Pros have to work really hard on the game and also strain the body in the most controted ways possible compared to many sports. So its not an easy job, they do deserve a lot of $ that they are paid. The caddies do a good job and deserve what they earn, I feel they should get more. (Dont compare only Steve Williams's pay check, take the avg. earning or earnings of players who are not in the leaderboard/limelight). My view is that the pros have to do more to make it a sport. You are hitting the shot, calculate the distance yourself, you are hitting the putt, read it yourself! Take care of every part of the golf game by yourself! Carrying the clubs/cleaning/food drinks etc can be left to the tradition of caddies (which is not going to change). Frankly, I feel the pros should carry the clubs them selves, its what they use to play, but thats not going to sell anywhere :) Goes against the (sometimes hidden) elitist aspects. I love the game, dont have anything against it, but when comparing to other sports/sports people/talk of 'athletes' etc is such a stark contrast to having a caddie do so many things when playing golf.

[jetsknicks1]

Thats like saying the pros should mow the lawn in the course. Thats completely not the point.

So are you saying that pros don't read their own putts? You say that you want caddies to make more money but yet you also say that the golfer should take care of all parts of the game themselves and carry their own bag? If that was the case why would they need caddies at all?

[WUTiger]

How much time does it take to get good as a caddy? How much practice time does one have to put in outside of official work hours to maintain oneself as a good caddy? How many people pay good money for a ticket to watch a caddy? ...

It takes several good training sessions, plus mentoring, to become a good caddie. In May of seventh grade, I went to training sessions at the club where I would caddie for the next four years.

Learning to caddie was an iterative process - you do it and do it again, improving in areas where you are weak. Members used to grade us after each round. The caddie master knew which members knew their stuff and which ones were "Caddieshack" idiots, so you didn't get pinged unjustly too much. In local area, just a few clubs - mostly on Missouri side - still have caddies. Bellerive and Old Warson caddie programs are fairly formal, and serve as feeders to pro tour. Outside the PGA tour, caddieing is often a family affair. If a wife caddies for her husband, she can calm him down after a rough round.

[Shorty]

why do the current day pros' get this type of 'labor'?

They don't "get" anything. They pay for their caddies.

[Shindig]

Vijay's caddy used to stay with him on the range for 5-6 hour stints.

True. There are certainly caddies who come to practice sessions, although I suspect Vijay's an extreme case. But I'd be surprised if, say, Kenny Perry's caddy (when he wasn't using family members for the role) was a regular at the range.

(I hope I didn't accidentally pick an extreme case in either direction)

It takes several good training sessions, plus mentoring, to become a good caddie. In May of seventh grade, I went to training sessions at the club where I would caddie for the next four years.

I didn't mean to imply that it's unskilled: it's just less time to be a good PGA Tour Caddy than it is to be a PGA Tour member (say, someone who can maintain his card most years).

[longdrive23]

So are you saying that pros don't read their own putts? You say that you want caddies to make more money but yet you also say that the golfer should take care of all parts of the game themselves and carry their own bag? If that was the case why would they need caddies at all?

Pros do, but I was responding to people who say that "caddies help in reading putts too". Well, I wouldn't mind caddies not being there at all :), but thats extreme, caddies are an integral part of golf now and will always be.

I wanted to throw this out for discussion. Was good to read the response from WUTiger about caddie training!

[Zeph]

If you threw out the caddies, a round would just take even longer. Except if they got to ride cars perhaps, but that would've been silly.

[jetsknicks1]

Pros do, but I was responding to people who say that "caddies help in reading putts too". Well, I wouldn't mind caddies not being there at all :), but thats extreme, caddies are an integral part of golf now and will always be.

One of the things I like about watching the pros is when you can catch a bit of conversation between the pro and his caddy. I always find it interesting just how closely they work together.

[sean_miller]

I didn't mean to imply that it's unskilled: it's just less time to be a good PGA Tour Caddy than it is to be a PGA Tour member (say, someone who can maintain his card most years).

With a short checklist for a specific player (every player has different "needs") and another for common etiquette, you'd be a champion caddie in 10 minutes. It's not brain surgery.

[NormH3]

You could take this to a higher level. Why do any sports professionals or entertainers get paid what they do? I remember the days when baseball and football players had off season jobs. (insurance, real estate..etc)

..and the answer is..because fans continue to pay overly inflated prices for tickets to events. (im just sayin')